JC22:Still don't understand why they didn't bring in a crane, saw through the wall or roof and lower someone down to try to help/save the guy. Seems they didn't really have any urgency to get to the guy. If the area was unstable I think they could have done this from a safe area away and lowered someone down with a crane.

My understanding (could be wrong) is that he was swallowed up and sank into the wet bottom almost right away. It isn't like he was on a solid bottom of a dry hole, he probably drowned or suffocated within a few minutes.

TommyymmoT:Those must some great building codes they have there.The house was built on a concrete slab with no basement, and I saw no rebar in that picture.What kind of cheap ass builder pours a slap without rebar?

The home builder killed that guy just as much as the sink hole did.

In slab on grade construction, you really only need rebar around the edges in the footings. The middle part of the slabs typically only have thin welded wire mesh for temperature and shrinkage crack control. So you might not be able to see the reinforcement in the picture.

JC22:Still don't understand why they didn't bring in a crane, saw through the wall or roof and lower someone down to try to help/save the guy. Seems they didn't really have any urgency to get to the guy. If the area was unstable I think they could have done this from a safe area away and lowered someone down with a crane.

Because he is very likely dead. That hole/cavern was unexposed to the surface for thousands of years, if ever. There is likely little to no oxygen down there. He fell down, rolled into an area with too low oxygen, and passed out and suffocated shortly thereafter.

I can't imagine what the family must be going through right now. Wondering if their loved one might actually still be alive down there, but unable to communicate that to anyone........then watching as they just burry him. :::Shivers::: As someone who works for a Public Works Department, I also feel for the guys/gals who actually have to tear the home down, and fill in the hole....thus burrying the "body". That has to be an emotional task for them as well. Sad story all around.

NEDM:JC22: Still don't understand why they didn't bring in a crane, saw through the wall or roof and lower someone down to try to help/save the guy. Seems they didn't really have any urgency to get to the guy. If the area was unstable I think they could have done this from a safe area away and lowered someone down with a crane.

Because he is very likely dead. That hole/cavern was unexposed to the surface for thousands of years, if ever. There is likely little to no oxygen down there. He fell down, rolled into an area with too low oxygen, and passed out and suffocated shortly thereafter.

TommyymmoT:Those must some great building codes they have there.The house was built on a concrete slab with no basement, and I saw no rebar in that picture.What kind of cheap ass builder pours a slap without rebar?

The home builder killed that guy just as much as the sink hole did.

That home looks like it may have been built in the '50s or so. Was rebar in slab construction as prevalent as it is now? I honestly don't know, but what I do know is that my 50's vintage home has no rebar on the patio, and none in the driveway or carport. I know this because they all have bigassed cracks and heaves in them, and you can't see any metal in there.

/Heard somebody today saying that our lack of infrastructure spending is to blame for this event//We need to spend on infrastructure, yes, but that wouldn't help somewhere that has a high water table and limestome bedrock

I pulled the LiDAR for this area. Green dot is the house, red arrows are pre-existing karst features. Link

One of the problems with how they develop in this problem is how they treat sinks. You can tell the area around the house is pretty terraformed. Basically they'll backfill any small sinkholes and build over them. Larger ones are squared off and used as retention ponds.

Anyways, there's a chance this was more than sheer dumb luck - or at least dumb luck of a different kind. If the guy had a water leak under his house, it could have acted as a trigger by washing out the soil under he house and into the sinkhole.

TommyymmoT:Those must some great building codes they have there.The house was built on a concrete slab with no basement, and I saw no rebar in that picture.What kind of cheap ass builder pours a slap without rebar?

Rodeodoc:FTA: There has been no definitive word as to whether the hole will be filled or whether the property could be built on again. But some experts say the fact that the sinkhole claimed a life, and that his body is expected to remain below the surface make rebuilding less likely.

This is Florida. Some sleaze bag developer will buy the area, give it a fancy name like River Edge Estates, and build a shiat load of cheap homes on it. then they'll disappear into the pockets of the politicians they feed on, never to be heard of again.

I'm sure FARKers can come up with a better name than that. Strawberry Caverns, perhaps?

BroncoFan_17:I can't imagine what the family must be going through right now. Wondering if their loved one might actually still be alive down there, but unable to communicate that to anyone........then watching as they just burry him. :::Shivers::: As someone who works for a Public Works Department, I also feel for the guys/gals who actually have to tear the home down, and fill in the hole....thus burrying the "body". That has to be an emotional task for them as well. Sad story all around.

Given that they haven't found a body yet (last I checked, anyway), I find myself hoping that the guy wasn't in his room that night. Maybe he'll show up in a couple days at his own funeral, Tom Sawyer-style.

That's just about the only way this story could get any weirder, but this is a Florida thread after all.